...every study of the gods, of everyone's gods, is a revelation of vengeance towards the innocent.

I'm a worst-case scenario person. I'm only interested in a story because I kind of go, like a magnet, to the worst thing that can happen.

The more clearly one sees this world; the more one is obliged to pretend it does not exist.

There's no reason you should write any novel quickly.

It was one of those ridiculous arrangements that couples make when they are separating, but before they are divorced - when they still imagine that children and property can be shared with more magnanimity than recrimination.

Newspapers are even worse for me than ice cream; headlines, and the big issues that generate the headlines, are pure fat.

Wrestling was my first success, the first thing that confirmed that I could be good at anything. Devoting yourself to wrestling, or tennis, or skiing, or dance, or to a musical instrument is a longing to be disciplined for a purpose.